Kim Il Sung Kumsusan memorial Pyongyang North Korea

The official residence of North Korea's head of state until President Kim Il-sung's death. It has since been transformed into a mausoleum for the deceased ruler.

Kumsusan Mausoleum, where the mummified body of Kim Il Sung is kept and shown to Visitors, was his former residence and office. Following his death in 1994, Kim Jong-il transformed the office into his father's Mausoleum. Deep inside the vast palace, the Great Leader's body lies viewable inside a crystal sarcophagus. No pictures are allowed. First you must access the memorial through a very long and entrenched corridor.

Then, you must go thru a purification process:you have to walk onto a machine, which cleans your shoes. You must then go through an X Ray machine, and then enter a sort of wind tunnel that is supposed to remove all the dust that you may have on your clothes. The last step: you go through a giant door, looking like one you might find in a bank’s safe, and then finally get to the body in a crystal sarcophagus. You have to turn around and pay respect 3 times.